Notes / Commercial Description:
In this year’s edition we took our inspiration from two Belgian styles: Saisons and Golden Triples. As such, the Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic has a deep, deep golden hue and the flavor is spicy, fruity, complex and refreshing. We used four different malts, and a subtle, yet distinct, blend of Glacier and Crystal hops to get just the right balance. Then, for the complexity, we added in some exotic spices --- including ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, lemon peel and orange peel (the latter three acknowledging our Southern California home) --- and a special Belgian yeast strain. All in all this is yet another case of us drawing from classic Belgian influences and cavalierly making it our own...San Diego style!

Like past VE releases, this one is another strong Belgian-style ale; but this year's twist is that it's a Saison/Tripel hybrid, brewed with four malts, Glacier and Crystal hops, and spiced with ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, lemon peel and orange peel.

Deep golden, with rich, bright amber hues, topped with a healthy-looking creamy white foam head that laces and sticks well. Smells like a fruit cup, with a powdery, slightly metallic background note, soft floral bouquet and some distinct cardamom. Creamy on the palate, smooth and medium-bodied, rounded, but a bit plain due to a thin carbonation edge. Up front there's a nice ginger zing and a smack of citrus. Kind of sweet, with some toasty and bready malt notes, a hint of caramel and a light fruity ester that sits on a somewhat tamed cardamom base. Some gummy notes in the middle. Spicy, peppery alcohol bite and warmth. Finish is really dry with a bready and earthy linger.

A most interesting combination of two very distinct styles--but not the strongest out of the series. Though the cardamom was probably used gingerly (sorry about that), it just doesn't work for us--cardamom is pretty damn aggressive. Removing it and allowing the nuances from the Belgian yeast to shine would have worked better; which, in turn, would have given the ginger and citrus more of a presence. It's also lacking the light-bodied effervescence and dryness found with both styles. Aging could prove beneficial.

More User Reviews:

My fourth Vertical Epic series beer I have had the chance to try and again another winner.Poured into a large tulip glass a deep rich golden with a hint of burnt orange,a large fluffy sticky white head atop that held great lasting power.Fruit and yeast stand out most in the aromas the use of lemon,and watermelon peel show as does the ginger (wich shows up more in the flavor of the beer) along with some yeasty clove-like spice.Big almost chewy mouthfeel adds character to the beer,quite complex flavors juicy fruit along with some yeasty spice with a very noticeable ginger and white pepper element in the finish.Normally not a huge fan of the style but this has some American twists and complex flavors,very nice...again.

Thanks to Jeff for cracking this - my first taste of any Vertical Epic ever. For some reason I've always passed them up on the shelves, but I was excited to try one that was 5+ years old. Vertical Epic 07 pours the murkiest and swampiest shade of trudgy brown with a yellow-ish tint that I've ever seen. Completely opaque to any and all light and capped with a foamy, big-bubbled, quickly settling eggshell head. Looks like swampy butt juice, seriously what the hell?

Oh gosh, the aroma is even more strange and nebulous than the appearance of this beast. Tomato juice, bubblegum, belgian yeast, vinegar, pounds of ginger, sour-ish cardamom, highly vegetal... Is this a beer or a spiced V-8 splash? Not sure how you blend a saison and tripel and end up with this, though perhaps some of the disarray is induced by the added (and unnecessary) spices. This surprisingly gets a little better as it warms, but it's still a pretty awful smelling beer.

The taste is just a bit better, maybe because at first, the flavors are kind of masked. It still has the weird, vegetal-ish, V-8 flavor happening with more green hints (celery, lettuce?) and that's really killing things for me. The ginger is kicked up about ten notches as well, and it's mildly sour and does not play well with the also-copious amounts of cardamom. This brew is a pretty tough one to stomach, though I think I can make it.

The back-end brings some slight reprieve as there's finally a hint of something I recognize and like in my beer - Belgian yeast. Some bready yeast, clove, and just a bit of citrus peel. Once the strange tartness (seriously, where does this tart note come from) finally fades and the vegetal flavors have a chance to leave your palate, you can finally taste the Belgian influence and all hope is not lost. Unfortunately, I think it's too little, too late.

No complains on the mouth feel, and the carbonation was pretty good considering nearly six years of age was placed on this sucker. But for real, this was pretty awful. I managed to choke all of it down, so it did not enter drainpour territory, although it was getting awfully close. I think it might be a good thing that this beer will never be made again, for the sake of beer drinkers everywhere.

First sip brings a crisp, spicy light malt upfront that carries lots of tropical, citric flavors with it. Spicy ginger makes itself known midway through and the brew flows down with just a touch of hops. Finishes a bit dry with a lingering fruity spiciness and a blast of yeastiness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation and a crisp finish. Goes down fairly easily and the bomber disappears pretty quickly. I'm just not too sure what this beer is trying to be and at no point did it really grab me. I'll let my other bottles sit and see what happens with some age. Thanks to KingG for hooking me up with this one.

22 oz bottle. Pours a hazy golden-orange with a small white head that quickly disappears.

The aroma is wheaty malts with some spices and a little fruit and alcohol and some grassy hops.

The flavor is sweet malts, spices (clove, ginger) with some fruitiness. It has a grassy bitter finish. As it warms, the sweetness and ginger become a little cloying. The mouthfeel is medium and watery with low but sharp carbonation.

Overall, a decent Belgian, but not too striking to me. The blend of overwhelming flavors don't balance out really well.

"Stone calls this one a Golden Triple / Saison Hybrid" What more needs to be said? Stone bomber, Pours orange/amber clear, moderate off white head and just respectable lacing. Nose is boldly of fruity sweetness and spicy intrigue. Complex brew. upfront you will find plenty of fruit, spice, sweet malt. Candy apple sweet, tropical fruit sweet, coriander spice, ginger spice, gin spice. You either will love or hate this one and it will be interesting to see what some time does to mellow it out and perhaps bring things together a bit. For now its bold, complex and to my warped taste buds quite tasty...go get some and enjoy...thanks to Keith from DeCiccio market in Pelham, NY for letting me know this one had come in and was on the shelves...

Smells quite aromatic. Some hops, some spice. Nothing distinguishable. Taste is weird at first, but after a few sips, it becomes very palatable. Nice bitterness. Good hoppy taste with light citrus and ginger. Really great beer.

Has a really nice body and nice mouth feel. Very drinkable, but it definitely not a chugger. Sip like fine wine.

I plan on purchasing more of these as it is quite worthy. Very recommended.

As a stone whore myself, i saw this in my local bottle shop and figured eh what the hell ill pick up a few. Im glad i did as a frequent ris and dipa drinker this was a nice lighter change without being flavorless. Nice fruity taste but not in an offensive way and its hard to pinpoint what it is. Not stones typical offering's but its a very good solid beer and im looking forward to trying the rest of the line.

This Belgian Ale pours a copper to amber color, frorm the bottle and into the glass. The head was minimal, even with a vigorous pour. The smell is faint, not really indicative of anything. The taste is bland and nonpleasing, being overwhelmed by a sticky sweetness. There is a bitter, metallic, taste at the end of the sweet. This is not really a pleasurable offering, by Stone's usually standards.

A. The appearance is a dark golden color with very little head.
S. The aroma is really sweet, with some floral belgium notes. Some fruit notes of apple cider.
T.the flavor is similar, and finally some complexities from the yeast.
Mf. Maulty, decent carbination.
Overall, not bad for the style and age.

Appears a honey glazed golden hue with a large white head leaving speckled lacing behind very impressive look to it. Aromatics contain delicate floral hops ginger spiciness mild background sweet and tart while grape tartness mild pineapple and pear fruitiness very aromatics like an insense candle burning slightly perfumey hop component going down. Flavor citrus peel viscosity tannin like character with a ginger finish, complex alcoholic swetneess honey tinged spicy notes good flow here but I see some age will help mold this one. Mouthfeel has a slightly syrupy character strong fortified carbonation, stay on your palate pretty unrelenting. Drinkability, definitely still young and a bit abrasive good thing it needs to last until December 12th, 2012. I really enjoyed the blend of the citrus and ginger here I could definitely take on some sushi with this complementing my dinner.

Remarkable orange-amber color; crystal clear with a small but partially durable head. Very little lacing.
The aroma is not promising, with too much suggestion of vinegar. Otherwise, a wild mix of spices over a fruity base. The flavor also has a suggestion of vinegar but, thankfully, this is much more subdued.
M: Still lightly hot, the higher ABV is not well hidden. Low carbonation works well.

O: At 6 years, probably the oldest beer I've had, and probably past its prime, even if specially delivered by Stone. Still, interesting, fun and enjoyable, if flawed and slightly challenging.

This beer pours a clear golden color, with a nice fluffy off white head. The head has a slightly yellow tint to it. It fades slowly, leaving a nice lacing.

This beer has a spicy aroma. I smell coriander, cloves, and grains of paradise. This beer also has some grainy aroma. I can smell a nice mild citrus hop aroma as well. Some citrus notes are also present.

This beer tastes very much like it smells. It is mostly spicy, with some grainy flavor. I can taste the citrus hop flavor as well.

This beer is full bodied. It goes down smooth, leaving a clovey aftertaste. It is highly carbonated.

I think that this beer might make a decent session beer. It might be a little too spicy to enjoy a few bottles at a time. Also, the alcohol content is a little high.

Overall: This is a good beer. I have never had any complaints with the Vertical Epics, and I have had every one. Will this one mak it? I am not sure, but I am leaning towards no. I predict that this beer starts to develope a bandaid lik flavor after a little while. I hope I am wrong.

Taste - Some mild citrus hops come on the tongue first. Soon after the spices appera to balance the citrus flavors. There is some ginger which helps cleanse and tame the palate for the barrage of wonderful tastes.

(Served in a teku)
A- This beer pours a deep apricot body with a touch of haze and a gentle carbonation of tiny bubbles supporting a thick ring of antique white head. The second glass has a micro-jetsam suspended in the body.

S- The spun sugar aroma has some bright lemon tartness to it with a mellow more full dry spice in the finish. There is some cardamom aroma with ginger warmth and a pale malt sweetness as it opens along with a cream aroma.

T- The jelly marmalade orange flavor takes on some lemon flavors that grow. The mellow cardamom is still strong with ginger heat growing stronger aswell, and some tangerine zest in the finish. The ginger heat shows up in the after taste. The finish is dry but the citrus gives it some perceived sweetness.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with an alcohol heat only on the exhale.

O- This beer improved a bit with age but the flavor profiles are a bit awkward together and has sort of a old time aftershave quality to the flavor. I was hoping for more yeast character to push the spice and citrus into secondary flavors, but it wasn’t there.

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(Served in a tulip glass)
drank 7/20/2007
A- This beer has a crystal clear light amber body with a snow white head that fades to a thin ring around the glass. There is a gentle carbonation of tiny bubbles that glide to the surface.

S- The note of perfume and flower petals comes through with a dry spice note like that of cardamom and frankincense. There is a light green vegetation note in the finish but it is not specifically hops. The hints of pale sweet malt come through lightly as the beer warms but it has more corn sugar than malt qualities.

T- The taste of dry candy sugar comes through with a very light white wine note and a note of perfumed spun sugar. The note of cardamom is soft but increases as the beer warms. The finish has a soft grapefruit rind note with slight snap of ginger without the ginger taste. The green notes of hops are soft in the finish but are present with the other flavors.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a light alcohol heat in the finish.

D- The spice flavors are a bit off and stronger than the sugar/malt flavors. I think some age could improve this beer and hopefully quiet the spices a bit. The hops are soft already so it might be a totally different beer in 5 years.

A: Pours a beautiful glowing tangerine amber color with good visibility. About a fingers worth of white head forms and holds for a bit. A bit of lacing to start.

S: Lots of spices, a spearmint makes up a healthy portion of it. Some natural catnip smell and toothpaste, too, lol. Maybe some white pepper. Fresh spring flowers backed by some malt sweetness. Very interesting.

T/M: Right up front you get exactly what the nose offers with an edge to the spearmint and toothpaste. After the initial burst you get a drying yeast character, full of fruity and floral esters and backed by more spices... maybe some chardomum(sp?) and coriander. Light malt body with plenty of sweetness and candi sugar. Carbonation has held up very well and keeps things alive.

D: Extremely interesting and pretty drinkable. Complex enough to be a sipper... and the ABV :)